IBM Sterling Reverse Logistics automates returns and exchanges, reduces costs and enhances customer engagement. Benefits: • Improves the utilization of inventory • Limits reverse logistics processing costs • Improves return and repair cycle times • Increases service network profitability • Improves responsiveness to customers • Supports efforts to comply with European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipments (WEEE) initiatives

1. IBM Software
IBM Sterling
Reverse Logistics
Automate returns and exchanges, reduce costs
and enhance customer engagement
IBM®
Sterling Reverse Logistics automates returns processing and
guides the user through pre-defined steps to help ensure the same level
of customer service is achieved virtually every time. Individual customer
returns, complex bulk returns and return dispositions, as well as a
repair-and-return process can be pre-defined and efficiently managed;
reducing costs with a simultaneous increase in inventory visibility that
can add to sales volume as well as profit totals. Timely management of
customer returns delivers an improvement in inventory availability, as
well as an opportunity to realize the potential benefits of increased
customer satisfaction.
If your enterprise often experiences any of the following situations, you
need the Sterling Reverse Logistics solution.
• High levels of returns
• Managing different types of return processes (consumer returns, bulk
returns, repair/salvage services, and more)
• Higher costs in returned inventory (either high cost goods, or high
volumes of returns)
• Supporting separate processes for handling of recyclable materials,
hazardous materials, and more
• Poor customer satisfaction levels with existing returns processes
• Inability to accept returns from different sales channels
• Problems achieving customer satisfaction service level agreements
• Implementing processes to separate items for the European
WEEE initiatives.
Leverage returns as a source of supply
You may be unaware of the amount of inventory tied up in your current
return-and-repair process. High-value products and parts may sit for
weeks before they are sent for repair or returned to stock. Such parts
often require no repair at all, and could immediately be resold to
another customer.
Benefits
• Improves the utilization of inventory
• Limits reverse logistics processing costs
• Improves return and repair cycle times
• Increases service network profitability
• Improves responsiveness to customers
• Supports efforts to comply with European
Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipments (WEEE) initiatives

2. IBM Software
2
Sterling Reverse Logistics enables you to effectively track
items throughout the return-and-repair process, and
automates the procedure that returns items to stock,
and can automatically reclassify the item as refurbished.
Moreover, real-time status updates from service-and-repair
personnel allow you to use the reverse logistics cycle to its
best advantage as an ongoing supply source.
Setup processes automate separate recyclable or hazardous
materials. Companies are increasingly looking at separating
certain materials like hazardous materials to comply with
regulations, or recyclable materials for recovering costs or
complying with regulations. Combining the features of the
IBM®
Sterling Warehouse Management System with our
reverse logistics solution, you can set up tasks to automatically
separate the processing of hazardous or recyclable materials.
Easily configurable workflows enables the handling of returns
according to virtually any order or product-related attribute.
Improve the customer experience
Sterling Reverse Logistics enables the creation of return
orders directly from the original order, providing a
comprehensive history of the order life-cycle, which allows
the CSR to provide knowledgeable assistance to virtually all
customers no matter what channel was used in the original
purchase of the item. Various appeasements can also be
defined to allow users to offer alternatives to returning the
item, therefore reducing the cost of returns while still helping
to ensure the satisfaction of the customer. Automated
processes and global visibility of orders improves the quality
of customer service, while eliminating inventory buffer stocks
and costly manual processes.
Capability Description
Configurable returns processing • More easily configure returns processing based on virtually any product-related attribute
• Effectively manage multiple channels of product disposition (repair, dispose, destroy, re-sell, and more)
• Use rules to set up different return locations for different types of items
• Guide the user through the entire returns process, helping to ensure consistent customer support
• Provide customer-specific appeasements to reduce the cost of returns
Control virtually all orders related
to return
• Link returns with virtually all other related orders (original sales orders, replacement order, repair order,
and more)
• Automatically create advanced exchanges from the original return
• Coordinate dependencies among multiple order types
Real-time visibility and exception
handling
• Track return order execution in real time
• Provide customers and partners with role-based status updates of return-and-repair orders
• Proactively resolve exceptions throughout the reverse logistics process
Repair cycle control • Automatically generate repair orders
• Expedite repairs as needed to meet mission-critical customer requirements
• Effectively interact with third-party repair vendors
Closed-loop processing • Automate the process for returning items to stock
• Include appropriate returned or repaired items in ATP calculations
• Sell one-off items not usually stocked in stores, from any channel, to avoid the cost of shipping
back to original location
Execution in return center/
warehouse
• Support multi-step receiving process
• Inspect incoming returns and manage or direct the return by disposition
• Generate different tasks based on different types of items (recyclable, hazardous materials, and more)
• Return items to 3rd party vendors

3. ZZD03091-USEN-02
Please Recycle
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2014
IBM Corporation
Software Group
Route 100
Somers, NY 10589
USA
Produced in the United States of America
August 2014
All Rights Reserved
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and Sterling Commerce are trademarks or registered
trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States,
other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on
their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol (® or ™), these
symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the
time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or
common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is
available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/
legal/copytrade.shtml.
The information contained in this publication is provided for informational purposes
only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the
information contained in this publication, it is provided AS IS without warranty of
any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current
product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice.
IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise
related to, this publication or any other materials. Nothing contained in this
publication is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or
representations from IBM or its suppliers or licensors, or altering the terms and
conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software.
References in this publication to IBM products, programs, or services do not imply
that they will be available in all countries in which IBM operates. Product release
dates and/or capabilities referenced in this presentation may change at any time at
IBM’s sole discretion based on market opportunities or other factors, and are not
intended to be a commitment to future product or feature availability in any way.
Nothing contained in these materials is intended to, nor shall have the effect of,
stating or implying that any activities undertaken by you will result in any specific
sales, revenue growth, savings or other results.